Josh Dunkley

Joshua Dunkley (born 9 January 1997) is an Australian rules footballer who plays for the Brisbane Lions in the Australian Football League (AFL).

For the Australian rower, see Josh Dunkley-Smith.

Josh Dunkley
Dunkley training in August 2018.
Personal information
Full name Joshua Dunkley
Date of birth (1997-01-09) 9 January 1997
Place of birth Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Original team(s) Gippsland Power (TAC Cup)/Sale Magpies
Draft No. 25, 2015 national draft
Height 191 cm (6 ft 3 in)
Weight 91 kg (201 lb)
Position(s) Midfielder
Club information
Current club Brisbane Lions
Number 5
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
2016–2022 Western Bulldogs 126 (65)
2023– Brisbane Lions 24 (2)
Total 140 (67)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2023.
Career highlights
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Early life

Dunkley was born in Sydney, the second of three children to Sydney footballer Andrew and his wife Lisa.[1] After Andrew retired from AFL football in 2002, the family returned south to country Victoria and lived on a farm near Yarram in the Gippsland region.[1] Dunkley participated in the Auskick program at Yarram.[2] During his time playing for Gippsland Power, Dunkley developed into a promising leader (being the team captain in his final year), and his strong overhead marking skills, along with his ability to win the contested ball, had many comparing him to Sydney star Luke Parker.[3] He also spent time with Sydney's youth academy and played six games for Richmond's VFL team in 2015.[3] In the lead-up to the 2015 AFL draft, Dunkley attracted keen interest from a number of clubs, especially his father's former club Sydney, but when the Western Bulldogs bid for Dunkley with the 25th selection,[4] Sydney chose not to match the bid. After losing players like Nick Malceski and Adam Goodes, the club were looking for players with strong kicking skills and although Dunkley was under serious consideration, it was felt that his kicking skills needed improvement. He thus became the first player under the new father–son drafting rules to have a draft bid placed on him which was not matched by his father's former club.[5]

He graduated from Gippsland Grammar School in 2014 and spent 2015 working at the school as a teacher's assistant prior to being drafted.[6]

AFL career

Dunkley made his AFL debut in round 1, 2016 against Fremantle. He also scored his first AFL goal in that match.[7] After his performance against North Melbourne in round 20 where he recorded nineteen disposals, four tackles, three clearances, and three inside-50s, he was the round nomination for the Rising Star.[8] Dunkley would then go on to play a key role in the club's amazing finals campaign, showing composure beyond his years on the biggest stage. He kicked two goals in the 47-point upset of West Coast in the elimination final in Perth. Then the following week against Hawthorn in the semi-final, Dunkley was rated among the Bulldogs' best players, kicking a crucial goal in the second quarter as well as gathering 23 possessions in a memorable 23-point win. In the heart-stopping preliminary final win against Greater Western Sydney, Dunkley again recorded over 20 possessions, and in the grand final against his father's side, he gathered 15 disposals and seven tackles. At 19, he was the youngest player in the premiership side.[9]

Following a best-and-fairest season for the Bulldogs in 2022, Dunkley requested to be traded to the Brisbane Lions.[10] He was traded on the final day of trade period.[11]

Statistics
Statistics are correct to the end of the 2021 season[12]
Legend
  G  
 Goals
  K  
 Kicks
  D  
 Disposals 
  T  
 Tackles
  B  
 Behinds 
  H  
 Handballs 
  M  
 Marks
Season Team No. Games Totals Averages (per game)
G B K H D M T G B K H D M T
2016# Western Bulldogs 201791215213628876980.50.78.98.016.94.55.8
2017 Western Bulldogs 2075747398625290.71.06.75.712.33.64.1
2018 Western Bulldogs 5191115193223416931130.60.810.211.721.94.96.0
2019 Western Bulldogs 523118307344651951410.80.513.415.028.34.16.1
2020[lower-alpha 1] Western Bulldogs 512658513421928710.50.47.011.218.32.35.9
2021 Western Bulldogs 5155812922034956780.30.58.614.723.33.75.2
Career 93 47 55 913 1096 2009 373 530 0.5 0.6 9.8 11.8 21.6 4.0 5.7

Notes

  1. The 2020 season was played with 17 home-and-away matches per team (down from 22) and 16-minute quarters with time on (down from 20-minute quarters with time on) due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Honours and achievements
  • Team
  • Individual
    • Chris Grant Best First Year Player: 2016
    • AFL Rising Star nominee: 2016
    • 22 Under 22 team: 2019(vc)
  • Runner Up Best and Fairest 2019 (Doug Hawkins Medal)
  • John van Groningen Domestique Award: 2019
    • Tony Liberatore Most Improved Player Award: 2018, 2019

References
  1. Walsh, Courtney (27 September 2016). "AFL grand final 2016: Josh Dunkley born to kick on grand final day". The Australian.
  2. AFL Record. Round 1, 2022. pg 52
  3. Landsberger, Sam (18 November 2015). "Josh Dunkley must decide whether to nominate as father-son for Sydney". Herald Sun.
  4. "Pick 25 - Josh Dunkley". westernbulldogs.com.au. Retrieved 19 April 2016.
  5. Quayle, Emma (26 November 2015). "The Josh Dunkley dilemma: why Sydney opted out". The Age.
  6. "The Swans, or the draft? Josh Dunkley has time to make up his mind".
  7. "Josh Dunkley". westernbulldogs.com.au. Retrieved 19 April 2016.
  8. Guthrie, Ben (8 August 2016). "Son of a gun's 'fairytale' continues with Rising Star". AFL.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
  9. Schlink, Leo (2 October 2016). "Western Bulldog Josh Dunkley could have easily been playing for Sydney in the AFL Grand Final". Herald Sun.
  10. "Dunkley requests a trade to Brisbane". westernbulldogs.com.au. Retrieved 19 September 2022.
  11. @AFL_House (12 October 2022). "Trade paperwork lodged" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  12. "Josh Dunkley". AFL Tables. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
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